Resting in the Lord

By Phil Wood

Scripture – Matthew 11:28-30

I just turned 67, Marianne 66. And we are just now taking our first vacation. Oh, we've been on plenty of trips running around doing lots of stuff in other places instead of running around doing lots of stuff at home. Each of these trips has been energizing and a relief from tedium. But we've never gone someplace with the deliberate intention of simply resting in the Lord.

As I write, we're well into the third day of a six-day rest, and Marianne just looked at me with a very beautiful and knowing smile and said, "This is the best vacation we've ever had." We've never been on a vacation with God before.

We're sitting in the shade of a palapa and some coconut trees at the edge of the jungle – with literally miles of white, powdery sand stretching out in either direction – just letting the Spirit roll over us like the endless waves rolling up on the beach. Every morning so far, we've had this beach pretty much to ourselves.

Not even 100 steps back into the jungle over the soft, undulating sand, is our little thatch-roof cabana with nothing but a king size bed, a shower and a tiny little porch with two chairs. This morning, sitting there in the quiet of dawn, I actually sensed how Adam must have felt. I was in the Garden, and God was right there with me. It was brief, just a flash. But it was electrifying!

Today, we've been doing our best to have a day of silence. We're just trying things – experimenting with some spiritual disciplines to see how we can fit a more contemplative lifestyle into our daily routine. This morning on the porch I practiced the discipline of solitude and learned that it can be a way not to be alone but in the company of my creator.

During our day of practicing silence, we have been learning to hear God better. I spent quite a bit of time trying the discipline of "praying Scripture." Then in the afternoon, instead of allowing my hurry sickness to push me into praying harder, reading faster and studying more diligently, I intentionally indulged in the discipline of "holy leisure." I slipped into the ocean and let God rock me gently on the swelling waves. Then I walked back up on the beach, sprawled on a mattress and just basked in his glory.

John Ortberg says hurry is a disease of the soul. If we want to grow spiritually, he says, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. Today I came at it with a machete. Big deal, you say. Who couldn't take a few bloody hacks at hurry sickness while stretched out on a Caribbean beach thousands of miles from his computer? All I can say is everybody's got to start somewhere. Today God helped me understand the importance of this step at a deeper level.

This week, Mar and I began to incorporate more spiritual disciplines into our lives. We believe this is the road to the center of God's heart and that, along the way, God has many important changes in store for us. We'll keep you posted.

Lord, let your spirit roll through the church like the waves of the ocean, bringing each of us a fresh new awareness of the many ways we can open ourselves to your presence, your gentle instruction, your abiding peace, and your amazing love.